Every day an incredible number of debit and credit card payments are made around the world, and the number of payments are steadily increasing.
EMV is the leading payment system specification for debit and credit cards on the market and was jointly developed by the companies Europay International, Mastercard International, and Visa International, hence the abbreviation EMV. To be able to develop a debit and credit card payment system that is capable of using standard EMV approved cards, it is essential that the payment system fulfill the EMV specification.
The majority of debit and credit card payments are still made in stores using bulky and stationary EMV approved point-of-sale (POS) terminals. However, in the last couple of years the interest, both from the public and from companies, of being able to make payments with portable hand-held devices such as mobile phones have grown rapidly. However, the mobile phone is not considered to be a secure device and would not fulfill the requirements for conducting an EMV payment. The main security issue is the input of the personal identification number (PIN) into the mobile phone which could be intercepted by a third party using for instance malicious software. Thus, finding a way to be able to make EMV approved secure debit and credit card payments using ordinary mobile phones are therefore highly sought after.